


Birth

by Levis_turtles



Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: BillDip, I'm Sorry, M/M, aside from my apology, i have no idea what to put here, you'll find out what I mean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-10-18
Packaged: 2018-04-25 22:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 5,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4979815
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levis_turtles/pseuds/Levis_turtles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A collection of tales from Dipper and Mabel's birthdays. I have been told that you may cry.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 13th

Bill Cipher stood outside the window of the Mystery Shack, watching as the two brunettes blew out the candles of their birthday cake, grinning madly at each other as they made their wishes. Bill heard them, of course. Mabel wished to meet a nice unicorn one day, nothing like Celestabellebethabelle. Bill suppressed a laugh at the girl’s naivety; there were no nice unicorns, and there never would be. Dipper wished that his life would never go back to being as boring as it was before the summer, and at that Bill chuckled darkly – _that_ could be arranged.

He poofed into the Pines household, cane in hand as he landed on the table the family was sitting around, briefly setting it on fire to announce his arrival. “Birth!” He yelled, clicking the fingers on his spare hand and conjuring an image of childbirth above his head. Everyone in the room groaned, more annoyed by Bill’s antics than afraid, and turned away. Bill laughed. “So! How many years closer to your deaths are you? Forty? Seventy? Really, I have no idea – your concept of time baffles me!”

“Thirteen,” Dipper said, a little irately.

Bill frowned at him. “What’s the matter kid?” He hopped off the table and wrapped an arm around Dipper’ shoulders, “Aren’t you happy to see me?”

“I’d be happier to see you in a demon trap,” he mumbled, and Bill grinned.

“I knew I liked you for a reason!” He leaned away from Dipper, resting his back against the wall next to the window. “So, what’d you wish for?” He asked, eyes never shifting from Dipper, despite Ford and Stan now having weapons pointed at him.

Dipper glared, “Your ultimate demise.”

Bill laughed, “Now, now, Pine Tree. You and I both know that’s not quite true, is it?”

Dipper’s glare fell away, leaving a confused frown in its place. “What do you mean?” He asked, mouth running dry. Dipper knew that look – mischief mixed with malice – and he knew that what followed was rarely good.

“I mean,” Bill started, bending at the waist to lean in to Dipper, his face so close to the boy he could feel Bill’s breath on his face. “I’m gonna make sure your wish comes true.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is this something you guys would be interested in? I'm still gonna write it if it's not - I am a self indulgent child - but it would be cool to know what people like for future reference


	2. 14th

On the twins’ 14th year, the Pines family was prepared. They set up a strong ward around the house, burned runes into the grass, sprayed holy water on all of the surfaces. It kept Bill from entering the house, but they could do nothing to block out his image or his sound.

He stood outside the house, so close to the wards that he could feel them buzzing against his skin, and he grinned. He sang ‘happy birthday’ at the top of his lungs, legs kicking out in some rendition of the can-can while he swung his cane in his hand. A few times he saw one of the older members of the family glance out a window to see if he was still there, and he gave them a little wave when he did.

Eventually, the patience of the Pines’ ran dry, and they sent out an ambassador – of peace or war Bill didn’t really care. Ford frowned at Bill, arms crossed over his chest. “What do you want, Bill?” He asked, voice gruff.

The demon grinned, “Not you!” 

Ford scowled. “Yes, you made that abundantly clear thirty years ago.”

Bill’s grin softened, and he leaned so close to the ward that his yellow hair began to singe. “Jealous?”

Any resolve Ford had left vanished, and he stepped over the threshold of the ward, shoving Bill back by his shoulder. “Whatever business you have with those kids – end it! I will not watch you destroy any more innocent lives!”

Bill laughed, his grin wide and teeth sharp as pain stabbed through his shoulder. “You know, Glasses,” Bill said, straightening up and inspecting his nails. “I don’t think you fully understand the gravity of this situation.” He stepped closer to Ford, towering over his measly 5 feet. “If I want something, I get it. And I want-”

“Grunkle Ford!” Two hands wrapped around Ford’s arm, dragging him back inside the ward.

“Pine Tree!” Bill greeted, beaming. The boy was taller than he had been the previous year, and broader. He had lost some of the fat from his cheeks and his shorts had gotten just a little bit tighter around his thighs. Humans were so interesting, he thought - always changing.

“What do you want, Bill?” He growled, pushing his Grunkle behind him and levelling the demon with a glare. He was taller than Ford now, and that glare had started looking less like a pout. Bill was almost proud.

“From you?” the demon asked, pointing his cane at Dipper with a raised eyebrow. “Nothing yet,” he lowered the cane, taking a few slow steps forward until he was right next to Dipper, only the crackling ward separating their chests. “But one day, I’ll want everything,” his voice dropped to a whisper, “and you’ll give it to me, too.”


	3. 15th

The 15th birthday of the Pines twins was spent in the hospital. About four months before, cancer had snuck up on them as it did to so many others, and it was with heavy hearts that they decided a birthday celebration would not be appropriate this year.

Stan looked rough – he hadn’t shaved his face, he had been wearing the same clothes for over two weeks, and his hair fell in greasy clumps over his forehead. Dipper was a wreck – his skin was sunken and grey, cheeks and eyes hollow as he stared not at the one in the bed but at the monitor above her head, counting out every beat of her heart.

Mabel slept in the hospital bed, tubes connected to her body through her stomach and her arms and her mouth, performing every bodily function for her as she struggled to hold on to life. The doctors had dropped her into an induced coma a little over a month ago, to eradicate her pain as they worked tirelessly to save her life.

In the first stroke of luck since that fateful visit to the doctors surgery, Bill didn’t show up, though Dipper did feel the swell of magic in the room when the demon dropped in, choosing not to show himself to the two surrounding the bed.

Ford couldn’t even bring himself to show up.

Dipper had bought her a card and a present, for when she woke up, and left it on the side of the bed among the display of wildflowers that grew bigger every day. Stan had scoured every book in Mabel’s room – even the raunchy ones – in search of the botany book she had bought a few years back, and every day since she’d been in here he’d gone into the forest in search of the ones from the book, not returning home until he found some.

Mabel had made Dipper promise that he wouldn’t let this monopolise his life – that he would continue with school and friendships and _living_ after she was gone. He’d asked her to stop talking like that – like she was a lost cause. She had.

Dipper took Mabel’s hand in his own, pressing a kiss to her knuckles as he moved to leave the hospital room. Visiting hours would be over soon – Stan was only allowed to stay afterwards because he’d punched every doctor who’d tried to force him away from her side.

Stan didn’t watch Dipper leave – he watched Mabel, his fingers playing with a lock of her hair as his glazed eyes bored into her, as if he could heal her and wake her up with willpower alone.

He knew that he couldn’t.


	4. 16th

Dipper sat in his room on his sixteenth birthday, back against the wall and knees drawn up to his chest as he stared at the empty bed across from him – the bed that had been empty for over a year. He could still see her there, cuddling with the pig or knitting a sweater or laughing at steamy novels with Candy and Grenda.

She had always said she wanted to die on her birthday, Dipper had just never thought she would do it so soon.

One year, it had been, since he’d turned his back on his sister for the last time. Stan had turned off the life support machine that night – that’s why Ford couldn’t go. He could never have gone through with it if he’d seen her there. Stan hadn’t told him about it – he knew that Dipper would never allow it, and he was right. The only reason he’d spoken to Stan since was to ask him for afternoons off when he had a lot of homework to do – Stan always said yes.

Dipper knew that if there was one thing he could do for his sister, it would be to do the last thing she’d ever asked of him. He worked hard in school, sometimes asking for extra homework assignments if he didn’t have too much to get on with. He made some new friends, even had a girlfriend for a short while before he realised that girls weren’t really his thing, but even then they’d managed to stay on good terms. He hadn’t missed out on a single day of his life – not until today, that is.

Neither of the Stans questioned him when he told them he wouldn’t be going to school, nor did they try to talk to him when he disappeared into his bedroom and locked the door behind him. The school didn’t expect him to show up, and none of his friends phoned to ask where he was or why - everyone knew, anyway.

He just wanted to be alone.

And he would have been, were it not for a blazing ball of yellow and black demonic energy bursting into his room just as the sky started to get dark.

“Hey Pine Tree!” Bill sang, blowing on a kazoo as he pulled a party popper, the confetti sinking the ground anticlimactically. He frowned in confusion when he saw the boy on the bed, curled up in a ball and staring off into space. “Where’s the party?”

Dipper’s eyes slid over to the demon, hollow brown balls of despair blinking defeatedly in the dark. “No party,” he mumbled, his voice hoarse, and Bill finally made the connection between the wetness of Dipper’s cheeks and the puffy red of his eyes – he had been crying.

Bill dropped down to the floor, swaying for a moment as his legs grew accustomed to having weight put on them. “Is this about Mabel?” He asked. Dipper flinched when he said her name. Bill laughed, “You’re not over that already? Come on, Pine Tree! It’s been a year!”

The glaze over Dipper’s eyes faded away, replaced with the hot glare of fury, and he rose slowly from the bed. “Get over it?” He asked, his voice low. “That’s what you want me to do?” Bill had to arch his neck as Dipper came closer, struggling to look up at his full height from the measly two feet left between them.

Dipper’s eyes were on fire. 

His breaths came hard and fast.

Bill barely had a chance to block the punch that came flying at his face.

“Whoa!” He screamed, bringing his cane up to block the swinging fist. “What’s-?” Another punch from he other side cut him off, and Bill caught this one, pulling on it and using Dipper’s momentum to tug the boy against his chest.

Dipper deflated as soon as Bill’s arms were around him, hanging off the demon’s much smaller frame as tears flowed freely down his cheeks, the fat droplets of water splashing against Bill’s shoulders as he sobbed into the demon’s neck.

Bill steered the boy towards his bed, awkwardly trying to detach himself from the human’s grip before giving up completely and letting Dipper cry into him, the sixteen year old’s arms tight around his shoulders. Bill’s arms hung limply at his sides for a few minutes, until he figured that he should probably be using them for something and raised one to Dipper’s head, threading his fingers through the boy’s curls and playing with them.

They stayed like that for a while, Dipper nestled in Bill’s arms, until at some point the tears stopped and his breathing levelled out. Bill extended a tendril of magic to stop any nightmares from claiming him, before vanishing from existence, but not before drawing Dipper’s blanket over his shoulders.


	5. 17th

On the morning of Dipper’s seventeenth birthday, he awoke to find a box at the foot of his bed. It was wrapped in yellow paper, a black bow holding it together, and Dipper shook his head with a sigh. It had been a whole year since he’d seen the dream demon – he was that hoping Bill would leave him alone after the mess he’d caused last year.

No such luck, it would seem.

He cautiously peeled the paper away from the box, just in case it was a bomb or a curse or something much, much worse, but when the last scrap of yellow fell away Dipper found something he was all to familiar with. A book. But not just any book – it was the one he had bought for Mabel for their birthday two years ago, the one he’d thrown into the bin after he’d gone to the hospital the next morning to find an empty bed. It had been modified, of course - the cover was still black, but now there was an engraving of a pine tree and a shooting star on either side of the word ‘photos’.

Dipper flipped the first page open, careful not to break it, and he couldn’t withhold his gasp as he saw what was there. On the first page of the book there was an image of Mabel and Dipper, on their first day at the shack all those years ago. They grinned at each other, hands held tightly together as they stepped off the bus, not knowing that their lives were about to change forever. Dipper scratched at the page, where the edge of the picture should be, but found no ridge or lip. The photo was in the paper, with no chance of being lost or stolen. If he knew Bill, there would probably also be no chance of the book ever being destroyed, and for once he was just a little thankful that the demon was as thorough in his magic as he was in being a creep.

Dipper flipped over to the next page, this time finding a picture of the two of them in a rickety golf kart, screaming into the camera as a giant gnome chased them through the forest. Dipper had no idea how Bill had gotten hold of pictures like these, but he was glad he had.

The picture on the next page was a little different – it moved. Mabel and Dipper chased each other around the yard, water pistols at the ready as they stalked their prey – Grunkle Stan. The picture shifted, like a gif or one of those photographs from Harry Potter, and Dipper laughed when Mabel hit Stan square in the chest with a water balloon, her arms rising above her head as she celebrated her victory. 

He’d forgotten about that.

He continued to flick through the book, sometimes crying and sometimes laughing at the memories he had either forgotten or repressed, until he got to the final page. He had been half expecting there to be a picture of Mabel on her last day, or of Dipper at her funeral – some sick joke to crush Dipper’s heart after all of that – but there wasn’t. The final page held a picture of Mabel and Dipper smiling at the camera, the last day Dipper could remember spending with her before she’d been forced in to the coma. They were at the beach, Mabel buried in sand sculpted to look like she had a tail. She had her arms slung around Dipper’s neck, a wide smile on her face as they laughed together.

It was the last time Dipper had seen her smile reach her eyes.

Dipper curled up in bed soon after that, the book clutched to his chest as a few tears fell down his cheeks. “Thank you,” he breathed, almost silently to the empty room. “I know you listen to me,” he said, and he felt the air around him shift as Bill appeared in the room, but he didn’t turn to look at him. “Thank you,” he said, one last time, before slipping into the depths of sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> right! that's five chapters in one night. i'll probably write more tomorrow.


	6. 18th

When Dipper burst through his bedroom door, joined at the lips with a boy just a few months older than him, he failed to notice the way the air felt heavy with magic.

Lightning crackled around Bill Cipher as this _person_ pushed Dipper down on the bed, leaning into him as Dipper’s legs rose up to wrap around his waist, dropping down so he could maul Dipper with his mouth. Dipper moaned underneath him, back arching up off the bed and hands scrambling to grab hold of anything as this _human_ ground their hips together, eyes clamped shut as lips worked at his neck. 

The smell of alcohol was everywhere. The air around the two smelled like rotten apples, Dipper’s clothes – half of which had been tossed across the room by now – smelled like they’d been washed in tequila. 

Bill forced himself to stay calm as sloppy wet kisses were trailed down Dipper’s stomach, the boy arching up to meet them as the man got lower. But Bill’s strength of will could only stretch so far, and when deft fingers reached up to unbutton Dipper’s jeans and Dipper moaned into his arm, his cheeks flushing and back arching beautifully, Bill had extended a tendril of magic to knock a stack of books off a shelf before he even knew he was doing it.

The boys froze, eyes flying open as understanding dawned on Dipper’s face while confusion crossed his – Bill shuddered – _lover’s_.

“I think you should go,” Dipper said quietly, only adding to the man’s confusion as he wriggled out from under him. Reluctantly, he took Dipper’s outstretched hand and allowed him to lead him to the door. Dipper opened it for him, allowing him to go through first, and for a moment Bill was worried that Dipper would just continue his antics downstairs. But when Dipper turned to look over his shoulder, dark fury raged in a look that clearly said, ‘Don’t you dare go anywhere.’ 

Bill did not.

When Dipper returned to the room a few moments later, Bill was fully visible, and Dipper levelled him with a glare that made Bill seriously glad that looks could not, in fact, kill. “What was that?” Dipper snapped, somehow managing to salvage enough sobriety to be angry.

Bill shrugged.

“You don’t know?” Dipper asked. Bill shook his head, a little nervous – he’d never seen Dipper this angry before – and something about that made the brand new adult relax. His sigh as he flopped down on to his bed turned into a dark chuckle, and he eyed Bill with something entirely unreadable – like disbelief mixed with self pity and aggravation. “If you want to ruin every good experience I ever have,” he said, scrubbing at his eyes with the heels of his hands, “could you at least do it _before_ I’m half naked with my boyfriend?”

Bill didn’t know what to say to that – he wasn’t trying to ruin Dipper’s life, but he wouldn’t believe him if he told him that. He definitely didn’t want Dipper to never have any good experiences, he just… he wanted Dipper to have good experiences with _him._

That probably wasn’t good.

Bill flashed out of the room before Dipper could say another word, depositing himself in the forest at least thirty miles away from the Mystery Shack. He had some thinking to do…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, so i said no more and I MEAN IT THIS TIME!! I was planning on getting the first seven chapters done tonight, but it's almost 1AM and my friend is having an emotional crisis and I have school in the morning sooooo I'll just have to finish it tomorrow. Thanks for reading so far!


	7. 19th

When Bill finally finished thinking, it was Dipper’s birthday once again, and for the first time since he’d known the kid, his guardians weren’t with him. Bill had watched the Mystery Shack long enough to overhear that the Stan’s didn’t trust Dipper to be alone – didn’t know what he would do – if they weren’t there to watch him.

Dipper sat in the living room, a bowl of popcorn balanced on his lap as he watched some old movie on the TV. Bill smiled when Dipper tossed a piece of popcorn in the air, failing to catch it in his mouth. 

“Good thing no one saw that,” Dipper said to himself, picking up another piece of corn and popping it into his mouth the old fashioned way. “Unless… Oh, for the love of- Bill! Why are you hiding? It’s creepy!” 

Bill laughed, materialising next to Dipper on the couch. “I gotta hand it to you Pine Tree, you’re getting good at that.”

Dipper rolled his eyes. “Why are you here, Bill?”

The demon’s smile faltered.

“What are you watching?” He asked after a pause, his eyes flashing blue as he influenced Dipper to go along with the subject change.

“A film,” Dipper answered, his eyes losing their harsh edge as he accepted the demon’s presence. “Mabel used to love it,” he explained. “I figured I’ve been avoiding every aspect of life that reminds me of her for too long.”

The demon nodded, lapsing into silence as Dipper returned to staring at the screen.

The movie ran on for hours – scene after scene of doe eyed conversation that finally ended with a perfectly predictable fight scene where the male protagonist rescued the female protagonist from certain death and celebrated with a kiss. Bill could see why Mabel had liked it so much – it was awful.

About halfway through, Dipper had started yawning, head nodding forward before he snapped it back upright, eyes blinking blearily as he fought to stay awake. He finally lost the battle as the credits began rolling up the screen. His head nodded to the side, falling against Bill’s shoulder, and this time he didn’t jerk awake a few seconds later.

Or a few minutes later.

Or a few hours later.

Bill stayed there, of course – not even moving to breathe for fear of disturbing the boy. Dipper snored, and he drooled, and a couple of times he muttered a few unintelligible phrases about monsters and demons and Mabel. After a few hours Dipper shifted and his head slipped, landing on Bill’s lap, and the demon told himself that he absolutely did not like it when Dipper wrapped his arms around his torso, mumbling something against his chest as he nuzzled in.

Bill didn’t leave until he heard a key slipping into the front door and the drunken shouts of two seventy-year-old men outside the house. He flashed out of existence just in time to avoid being seen, but not fast enough to miss the way Dipper’s eyes snapped open, searching the room for a demon that he wouldn't find.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soooo it's my birthday tomorrow, and I figured that I would celebrate by writing some more chapters of this before the busiest week of the year ensues.


	8. 20th

Dipper had been alive for exactly two decades when Bill flashed into his room, grin sliding right off his face when he saw the boy stuffing a handful of shirts into a suitcase.

“You’re leaving?” Bill asked – demanded – clenching his fists to shove away the angry flames that threatened to flare around them.

The boy jumped on to the suitcase, squeezing it together with his thighs as he tugged on the zipper. He lurched forwards as the zip suddenly gave way, falling over the side of his bed and landing on the floor. He grinned up at Bill. “Only for a little while.” Standing up, he dusted himself off, not looking back to the demon until he was clean. “I’m visiting my parents in Piedmont. I haven’t seen them since I was twelve.”

Bill frowned. “Why not?” He asked.

Dipper shrugged, “I guess staying here was just more appealing than going home.”

Bill’s frown didn’t falter. “So why are you going back?” He tried desperately not to pout, “What’s the point? If you’ve been here all this time, why do you want to see them now?”

Dipper shook his head, “You wouldn’t understand. They’re my parents, it’s been eight years – I want to see them because… I don't know why, I just do.”

“Hm,” Bill rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Then, “Can I come?”

Dipper snorted before he realised that Bill was being quite serious. “You want to come to Piedmont with me?” Bill nodded. “Why?” 

“I don’t know,” Bill started, swinging his cane around idly as he wandered across the room to where Dipper stood. “Change of scenery?”

“Bill, you can go to any country in the world,” Dipper said, turning with the demon to keep an eye on his movements. “Why on earth would you choose California? And with me, no less.” 

Bill flicked the tassel on the zip of Dipper’s bag. “It makes sense, doesn’t it?” At Dipper’s raised eyebrow, Bill sighed, “I’ve spent every birthday with you so far – it’d be-” he chose the word carefully, “- _irregular_ for me not to come along.” 

Dipper’s lips twitched, like he wanted to smile but wouldn’t. “Are you saying you’d miss me if I left?”

Bill looked outraged. “Miss you!” He snorted, “Pine Tree, humans like you are a dime a dozen – I just don’t like breaking habits.”

Dipper laughed, nodding. “Alright then. If you can stand an eight hour drive with me – fine. Come.”

Bill laughed, a mischievous, _scheming_ grin taking over his face. “Drive?” He asked, incredulous. “Pine Tree, you do know who you’re dealing with, don’t you?” 

In one swift movement, Bill reached out and wrapped a hand around Dipper’s wrist. The boy would have screamed had the breath not been knocked out of him, and a bonfire of blue flames wrapped around them.

And then he was on his front lawn. Not the one in the Mystery Shack – that couldn’t even be considered a lawn anymore – but the one outside his parents house.

“Bill!” Dipper tried to scold, though it came out as more of a wheeze. He stared at the demon with wide eyes, “What the hell!”

Bill laughed, shaking his head. “I just saved you the trouble of driving for eight hours – I believe the words you’re looking for are ‘Thank’ and ‘you’.” 

Dipper sighed, looking away from Bill and shaking his head. “Unbelievable,” he muttered.

There was a rattling behind the front door, and Dipper’s eyes darted to the white wood barely a second before a round face poked out of it. “Dipper!” His mother said, a smile splitting her face as she flung the door open wider. “I wasn’t expecting you until this evening!”

Dipper smiled tightly, briefly glancing in Bill’s direction when he said, “There was a change of plan.”

His mother looked at Bill, only now noticing him standing next to her son, and her eyes flitted down to their still joined hands. Dipper was quick to let go. “Who’s this?” Mrs Pines asked, looking from Bill to Dipper and back again with a warm smile.

“My name is Bill,” the demon said, closing the distance between he and Dipper’s mother and reaching a hand out for her to shake. “I’m Pi- _Dipper’s_ boyfriend.”

Dipper didn’t have time to react before Bill was grabbing his hand again, tugging him to his side with a smile. Dipper blinked at the demon, and Bill winked at him, mouthing ‘just go with it’. 

Dipper sighed - this was going to be a long couple of days.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh! I forgot to mention in the last chapter that Dipper and his boyfriend broke up, and then when I looked back at it I couldn't find a way to incorporate it so I just left it out - sorry!


	9. 21st

On Dipper’s twenty-first, he was anticipating Bill’s arrival. The demon had disappeared on his last birthday, just as he always did, and Dipper hadn’t seen him since.

When Bill arrived, Dipper noticed the way the air against his skin shifted slightly – grew heavier. He didn’t look up from his book when he said, “Hey Bill.”

“Pine Tree,” Bill answered, reclining back on the kitchen table and kicking his feet up to rest on the back of a chair. “How’s my most-favourite least-stupid flesh bag this morning?”

“I _was_ doing great,” Dipper said, fighting a smile, “but then you showed up.”

Bill grinned, “You say the sweetest things, kid.”

Dipper laughed, setting his book to the side to focus on the demon. “I try.”

Bill shook his head. “So – what are you doing today? Any more relatives to visit?”

“Nah – my parents were so pleased to meet you that they told me not to come. I’m to spend time with my _boyfriend_ instead. I still have no idea why you did that, by the way.”

Dipper left the statement open, waiting for the demon to answer him, but Bill only shrugged. “Thought it might be fun,” he lied easily. “Anyway, as for today, what do you think about letting me show you something cool?”

Dipper shrugged, “I’m game if you are.”

Bill grinned. “I have no idea what that means, but for the sake of the thin scrap of dignity you have left I’m going to pretend that I do. Let’s go.” Bill extended a hand, and Dipper took it, exhaling as he prepared for what was coming.

And then they were in the woods.

Under the canopy of trees, it was dark, except for tiny dots of blue light surrounding them. At first Dipper thought it was Bill’s magic, little flames dotting the air, but as he watched them he saw the lights flit in and out of existence, darting around the clearing with a tiny tinkling sound.

“Wil o the wisps,” Bill said, moving to stand behind Dipper, his hand sliding up Dipper’s arm to rest on his shoulder. “If you follow them, they’ll lead you to what you want most.”

Dipper turned to look at Bill, “Have you ever followed them?” He asked.

Bill shook his head. “I’ve got everything I want,” he said. “But you haven’t. Go, I’ll wait for you here.”

Dipper frowned – he had no idea where he was, and if Bill left him, he doubted he would ever find his way back. He’d die in these woods, alone. But somehow, he didn’t think that Bill would do that to him. “Okay,” he breathed, and took a step towards one of the lights.

The little blue ball Dipper had chosen darted towards him, hovering in front of his face for a few seconds before whizzing off, pausing just beyond the tree line. Dipper cast one last look back at Bill before following the wisp.

The blue light led him into the woods, past trees and clearings and a river, and Dipper followed eagerly. He felt like he’d been walking for hours, but a quick glance at his phone told him that it hadn’t even been ten minutes.

The wisp ducked behind a tree, out of sight, and Dipper ran after it – straight into someone’s chest. “Whoa!” Bill gasped, hands wrapping around Dipper’s forearms to steady him. “You okay, kid?”

Dipper froze, but his vision shifted slightly and he guessed he was nodding.

Was-? Was the wisp leading to _Bill?_ Was it confused or something? The only thing that Dipper wanted with Bill was to get rid of him! Right?

“Are you sure? You look a little- hey, where did your wisp go?”

Dipper didn’t speak – only stared up at Bill, eyebrows furrowed in confusion and lips parted in shock. “I lost it,” he said, slowly, blinking up at the demon. “Can we go back now? I forgot there’s something I have to do.”

Bill’s face fell, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure. Are you alright to teleport or do you wanna walk?”

Dipper thought back to how nauseous travelling with Bill made him, and he stepped away from the demon’s grasp. “Walking would be good – it’ll give me time to think.”

Bill couldn’t help but wonder what about, but he decided to ignore that for now. Dipper looked white as a ghost – he didn’t need to be bombarded with questions right now. Bill nodded, “Okay.” He wrapped an arm around Dipper’s shoulders, and the latter didn’t shrug it off. “I’ll walk you home.”

Dipper involuntarily leaned into the touch, then consciously bent away from it. _This is bad_ , he thought, feeling the warmth of the demon bleed through his clothes and ignite his skin. _This is really bad_.


	10. 22nd

It was on Dipper’s twenty-second birthday that things went a little differently.

Dipper headed into the forest at first light, a backpack full of candles and rune stones bouncing between his shoulder blades. He found a clearing far enough away from civilisation that he wouldn’t get caught, and he set to work.

It took him a little over an hour to make the summoning circle, and he almost chickened out three times – as he was setting out the candles, as he was lighting them and as he cut his thumb to drop some blood into the centre of the triangle. He’d drawn the summons without a devils trap, so Bill could leave it if he wanted, and he hoped against hope that it would work without it.

As soon as the drop of blood hit the grass, the candles flared up, and Dipper scrambled back as a shrill laugh filled the air. Bill’s humanoid form began rising from the centre of the circle, his arms outstretched and his eyes clamped shut as he laughed.

Dipper rolled his eyes at the theatrics.

“You’d better make this quick,” Bill said, his eyes not yet open. “I’ve got a date with a- _Pine Tree?_ ” Bill’s eyes focused on Dipper and he sank to the ground, expression growing worried. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Dipper assured, taking a step closer to the circle. “I just-” he stopped. “I wasn’t sure if you were coming, and I- I have something to tell you.”

Bill raised and eyebrow, inviting him to continue, and the brunet growled in frustration. “I just-” he started pacing. “I mean to say that I-” he ran his hands through his hair. “This shouldn’t be so difficult!” He stopped moving altogether, back to Bill as he took a deep breath.

Bill took a step towards Dipper, hand outstretched, but before it could land on Dipper’s shoulder the brunet had grabbed hold of it. Bill was swung around, a hand shoving against his chest until his back was met with rough tree bark. He blinked down at Dipper, not sure whether the kid was trying to intimidate him or-

And then Dipper was kissing him.

Oh.

_Oh!_

Bill was still, not sure what to do with his hands or his lips or his _eyes_ because Dipper’s were closed but the flush in his cheeks and the furrow of his eyebrows was so fascinating that Bill just couldn’t look away.

Dipper took a step back far too soon for Bill’s liking, his eyes wide and worried as they met Bill’s, a burning question glowing within them. Dipper blinked at Bill, and Bill blinked at Dipper, and for the first time in forever Bill didn’t know what to say.

“I-” Dipper began, eyes averted as he fumbled with what to say. “Sorry,” he breathed. “I don’t know what I was thinking.”

Bill frowned, staring at Dipper’s flushed cheeks and listening to his racing heart that screamed just the opposite. The demon hooked a finger under Dipper’s chin, raising it slightly, and Dipper’s eyes flitted up to Bill’s once more, a glimmer of hope shining through the cracks. “The wisp,” Bill began. “It took you to me?”

Dipper nodded.

“Good,” Bill continued, “Because mine took me to you.”

Dipper’s breath hitched, and he opened his mouth – to say something or to help him breathe, Bill didn't know. And he didn’t get to know, either, because he saw his opening and leaned down, reclaiming Dipper’s lips in a kiss he’d been waiting on for far too long.


End file.
